Nokia N95 8GB Review

Overall Rating

It's light - considering the 8gb HDD, 5Mp camera, upgraded battery (over N95), this impressed me immediately. The 3.5mm headphone / TV out jack (very handy). Beautiful, large screen and great video playback quality. Very decent quality camera (particularly for still-frames) considering its size. Two-way slide is functional and easy to use, combined with automatic switching to landscape screen orientation, and dedicated media buttons. Ease of access to Wi-Fi networks (web browsing) in your surroundings. Generally easy-to-use operational interface. Fast boot-up, and switching between screens in the phone interface (nothing worse than a computer - let's face it, it's basically a PDA or computer - that has a second's delay between pushing the button and something actually happening). Ability to easily load up some great applications (including EA games). Battery life is acceptable if you are fairly restrained in your use of high-consumption activities (borderline range calls, use of applications and camera)

Audio quality on phone calls isn't the best. While the interface is generally easy to use, some things over complicated - managing contacts and calendar items takes some getting used to. Although they feel fairly robust now, I'm not sure how long the buttons will last if you use N-Gage (the gaming system) all the time. The two-way slide moves too easily from its center position (it can move in your pocket for example, unlocking the keypad; and then, the green 'call' button is on the very edge of the keypad...). Text/numeric buttons are not the most ergonomic (too small). Absolutely terrible standard ring tones (but of course you can transfer new ones from your PC). Battery life still not brilliant, but acceptable.

I have had this phone for about 3 weeks. My previous phone was an 8800, so this means two things so far, a) I am really impressed with the fact there are so many features compared with a regular phone, and b) while not being as classy in its materials (steel + glass vs plastic) or aesthetic minimalism, I can actually accept the appearance of this phone as a replacement for my old 8800.

Members' Comments onmatt0smith's Review

• keenkenneth on 19th Dec 2007

  I found this review helpful as it was not overly dramatic in its praise - when I am considering buying a phone I want to know the problems too, which always exist. I would have liked a little more technical comment regarding his experiences, for example exact times of battery, even his own estimation.